The present disclosure relates to an oxygen generator, and in particular, to a device for separating oxygen from air.
It is desirable for portable oxygen generators to be relatively quiet, lightweight, and electrically efficient (particularly if they are battery operated), while providing adequate oxygen production capacity. Current oxygen generator designs may fall short in regard to these desirable characteristics. In particular, current portable oxygen generators are often very loud.
Pressurized cylinders and liquid oxygen coolers are often considered the standard for current portable oxygen generators, but devices based on either method are often expensive and require frequent maintenance, such as refilling. Pressure swing absorption (PSA) may be the most frequently used design for oxygen generators. PSA produces relatively high purity oxygen by using a molecular sieve that removes the nitrogen in pressurized air, leaving oxygen and other gases behind. A drawback of the PSA system is that the molecular sieve often becomes saturated with nitrogen after a certain amount of use, thus requiring purging and/or replacement. In attempts to overcome this obstacle and permit relatively continuous operation, multiple sieves have been used in rotation such that, for instance, one sieve is used while another is recharging and a third is re-pressurizing. However, multiple sieves may become relatively costly. Furthermore, compressors used to accelerate gasses through the sieves may be relatively noisy and may require a substantial amount of energy.
Another design for oxygen generators is the generation of oxygen through electrolysis of water. This method may require more electricity than many oxygen generation methods. Additionally, electrolysis generally does not produce large quantities of oxygen at high rates, unless a larger system is used, the size of which may be undesirable.
As such, it would be desirable to provide an oxygen generator design that is capable of relatively high oxygen production while obviating at least some of the drawbacks mentioned above.